Sullivan stated that she had then removed Andrew's boots and helped him into his slippers before he lay down on the sofa for a nap (a detail contradicted by the crime-scene photos, which show Andrew wearing boots).[30] She testified that she was in her third-floor room, resting from cleaning windows, when just before 11:10 am she heard Lizzie call from downstairs, "Maggie, come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him."[12][31]

Andrew was slumped on a couch in the downstairs sitting room, struck ten or eleven times with a hatchet-like weapon.[16] One of his eyes had been split cleanly in two, suggesting that he had been asleep when attacked.[32][33] His still-bleeding wounds suggested a very recent attack.[34] Dr. Bowen, the family's physician, arrived from his home across the street and pronounced both victims dead.[35] Detectives estimated that Andrew's death had occurred at approximately 11:00 a